Nope, not at all. I see it like other pain killers such as Vicodin. They can be abused by people (most anything can be abused, really) but when used for purposes such as chronic pain, I see no issue.
I wanted to add that while taking an AIDS class in college, we had a speaker who was HIV + admitted to growing pot in his house because it was the only thing that seemed to relieve his pain. This made me incredibly sad.
I'm a drug counselor who has dealt w/HIV+ and AIDS clients.? I've had clients who were prescribed Marinol which is a pill form.?
I've heard that for many people the pill form isn't as effective as real marijuana. Marinol is a synthetic version of THC. Personally, if I was suffering I would rather have the real thing that was organically and lovingly grown either myself or by a trusted source than a synthetic substitute that doesn't work as well.?
Let me start by saying I don't and neither does my DH smoke pot, but I live in one of the pot capitols. So many people have 215 cards, and I don't know one person who uses it for medical purposes. We just have certain doctors that are known for giving them out to who ever wants one. I guess I'd have to make my decision on knowing someone who used it for the right purpose. There have been so many robberies in my town and they've been for people who have 215 cards. A friend of mine was just murdered during the robbery of his house. It's kind of a sore subject for me at the moment.
In college, I took a Sociology course in which we discussed the basis for the illegality of marijuana. It was fascinating - the newly appointed Surgeon General (I think) at the time said he could find no reason to ban it - but the Congress hated the president and told the Surgeon General to go tell his friend the president, and voted to make it illegal... It had a lot to do with xenophobic feelings against Mexican/Central American immigrnats and Chinese immigrant over 120 years ago.
My mom had cancer and she took Marinol. After seeing her suffer terribly until the day she died, I would say that YES I absolutley would have been happy if she had smoked pot if it made her pain a little more tolerable.
Let me say. I don't use it nor does dh. never have, probably never will.... however, I worked as a nurse in a cancer clinic.... From my experience w/ patients, marinol doesn't work very well at all... The main reason we used it was for decreasing nausea and increasing appetite, not for pain control. Here's my thinking on pot. It doesn't really matter if it is legal or not. if someone wants to get it and use it, they will, legal or not. The only people that its being illegal hurts is those who need it for medical reasons and are honest people who aren't going to use it because it is illegal. I feel like it would help alot of cancer patients if it were legal for medical reasons.... On the down side, then we'd have "pot seekers" just like those people who come in wanting nothing but pain meds. errrhh.
Re: For those that are anti-pot - medicinal use ok?
I've heard that for many people the pill form isn't as effective as real marijuana. Marinol is a synthetic version of THC. Personally, if I was suffering I would rather have the real thing that was organically and lovingly grown either myself or by a trusted source than a synthetic substitute that doesn't work as well.?
Yeah, he received some medical marijuana (although I'm not sure of the form) but it just wasn't enough, so he had to "bridge the gap.". So sad.?
In college, I took a Sociology course in which we discussed the basis for the illegality of marijuana. It was fascinating - the newly appointed Surgeon General (I think) at the time said he could find no reason to ban it - but the Congress hated the president and told the Surgeon General to go tell his friend the president, and voted to make it illegal... It had a lot to do with xenophobic feelings against Mexican/Central American immigrnats and Chinese immigrant over 120 years ago.